


Reckless

by MissViola



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Post Season 2, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-09-25 12:54:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9821315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissViola/pseuds/MissViola
Summary: Since Shiro's return, Keith had become increasingly reckless. It had started out with small things, but this was taking it too far. This was rash and careless. And it had nearly gotten them all killed. He didn't know what Keith was trying to accomplish, but if he was trying to kill himself, Lance definitely didn't want to end up as collateral damage.





	1. Chapter 1

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT KEITH?!"

 

Lance stormed into the red lion's hanger as Keith exited his lion. His face was red behind his visor and contorted with rage. The high domed ceiling and metal walls caused his voice to echo. Keith rolled his eyes as he pulled his helmet off and shook out his hair. Maybe if he didn't acknowledge the shrieking it would stop.

 

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? THAT WAS SO FUCKING DANGEROUS!"

 

Apparently not...

 

"Stop shouting." Keith unbuckled his arm guards and pulled his chest plate over his head "It's not a big deal." He continued casually.

 

"NO-NOT A BIG DEAL?!" Lance shouted. His voice was shrill and grating. "IT DEFINITELY IS A BIG DEAL! YOU FLEW OFF AND LEFT US WITHOUT COVER ON SOME BULLSHIT SUICIDE MISSION!"

 

"Did you die?" Keith huffed. He slid his t-shirt over his head and pulled his hair out of the collar. He just wanted to change as quickly as he could and get back to his room.

 

He could admit that the mission had been a bit of a disaster. Not out loud, of course. And not to Lance. Out loud, he'd defend his actions until his dying breath. But still, shame sat with an uncomfortable heat in the pit of his stomach.

 

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Keith stiffened at the sudden noise of metal on metal. Lance had chucked his helmet against the wall. His body was tense and his hands were balled into fists. Well, if he decided to throw a punch, Keith was far enough away to evade.

 

"Look, if no one died then I'd technically call that a win..." as he lied, the feeling in his stomach flopped in protest. He felt nauseous. He bent down to unbuckle his shin guards, using them as an excuse to not look at Lance "Besides, I got the prisoners out. That was like... the entire point of this mission."

 

Lance sputtered and flapped his arms, too angry to form a coherent sentence. Keith heard footsteps approaching. He stood up with a sigh, abandoning the buckles. He just wanted to change in peace. Couldn't the lectures wait until he was wearing real pants? Pidge stomped into the hanger looking nearly as angry as Lance, cheeks pink under their freckles. Hunk looked tired and sore, shuffling behind the other two. He was favoring his left leg slightly. Shiro's face was impassive, but his eyes were dark.

 

"Lance is right, Keith. That was incredibly reckless." Shiro's voice was low and dangerous as he placed a hand on Lance's shoulder, "You left the team open to an attack without letting us know what you were doing."

 

Keith felt the back of his neck flush. He hated it when Shiro used his disappointed dad voice.

 

"The ship exploded!" He said defensively, "If I hadn't gone when I did, all of the prisoners would have died!"

 

"The ship wouldn't have exploded if I'd been able to disable the ion cannon!" Pidge gestured wildly "But you left me exposed and I didn't get a chance!"

 

"Guys, calm down. Everything worked out in the end, we don't need to fight about it..." Hunk said with a placating gesture. A pang of guilt shot through Keith. Hunk was definitely favoring his left leg.

 

"Bullshit!" Lance spat, venomously "He just needs to be the fucking hero, even if it ends up getting the rest of us killed."

 

Keith could hear the blood in his ears and his body stiffened impulsively. "If you die, it's not going to be my fault. If you're going to insist on being a shit pilot maybe we'd be better off." Keith shot back.

 

The hanger was suddenly silence. Keith's words hung heavy in the air, even after they'd stopped reverberating off the metal walls. His breathing was heavy and his body felt hot. His arms ached from the sudden rush of adrenalin.

 

"Fuck you, Keith." Lance's voice was low but in the stillness of the hanger, it rang through like a gunshot.

 

He spun on his heel and stormed out of the hanger. Pidge threw a dirty look over their shoulder as they and Hunk followed him out.

 

"That was pretty cruel, Keith."

 

Shiro's words weren't accusatory, but still, the pit of shame in Keith's stomach was threatening to swallow him. Of course it had been cruel. He'd regretted the words the second they'd come tumbling out of his mouth. But he couldn't have stopped them. His shoulders slumped, arms feeling heavy.

 

"Yeah I fucking know..." he leaned back against a pillar and slid, sitting down hard on the ground. He rested his elbows on his thighs and pushed his fingers through his fringe, frustrated.

 

"So why'd you say it?" Shiro crossed the room to sit next to him.

 

"I don't know."

 

Shiro was quiet for a moment "...kinda feels like you said that just to hurt him."

 

"Sometimes things just come out before I get a chance to think about them. I wasn't..." Keith sighed and ground the heels of his palms into his temples angrily. He dropped his hands into his lap. "I don't know. Maybe I was trying to hurt him." he conceded, feeling miserable.

 

Shiro draped his cybernetic arm over his shoulder more gently than Keith would have thought it was capable "Think you should apologize?"

 

Even though it was posed as a question, he had the distinct feeling that Shiro had meant it more as an order.

 

"I... I'm really tired..." that wasn't a lie "maybe in the morning..." he'll have completely forgotten and I won't have to apologize.

 

Even though Keith had finished that thought in his head he could feel Shiro's disappointed gaze boring holes into him.

 

"Or... you could go do it now?"

 

Keith pouted and blew a puff of air in Shiro's general direction, but didn't argue.

 

They sat in silence and Keith leaned slightly into Shiro's embrace. His place in Shiro's arm was comforting and nostalgic, even if it was a different arm than the one that had brought him comfort on earth. The sentiment behind it was still the same. It was still Shiro. That was what mattered.

 

His dad, while loving and kind, hadn't been the most emotionally available person. He'd never insisted on physical contact or talking things out, which was fine with Keith. He'd always been uncomfortable with physical affection anyway.

 

But when he'd met Shiro when he was 14, after his dad had died, that had changed. Shiro always had a hug to offer. And a shoulder to cry on. And an open mind and ear to listen whenever Keith was having trouble. He was always caring and open with his affections and, for the first time in his life, Keith didn't find his place in someone's embrace entirely uncomfortable.

 

He wasn't so free with his affection anymore. It was one of the first things Keith had noticed was different after the Kerberos mission...

 

"There's a right thing and a wrong thing to do here, Keith." Shiro said, giving Keith's shoulder one last squeeze and standing up "I hope you decide to do the right thing." He took a few steps towards the hallway and paused "But tomorrow, we are going to have to talk about that crap you pulled. Don't think you're getting out of that."

 

Keith watched him leave and threw his head back in exasperation.

 

Of course he wanted to do the right thing. He always wanted to do the right thing. But he'd noticed, with increasing frequency lately, that sometimes what he thought were the right things were turning out to be very wrong.

 

Even today with the rescue. He'd seen an opening to get them to safety and he'd taken it. It had felt like the right thing at the time. He'd even thought he'd called out what he was planning over the coms. He had assumed everyone was on the same page.

 

Apparently, they had, in fact, not been on the same page at all. And it had been the wrong call. Because of course it was.

 

He smacked the back of his head into the pillar a couple of times in frustration before sighing heavily and standing. He was such an ass.

 

He changed out of his armor, quickly. He couldn't guarantee that Pidge or Hunk wouldn't come back to yell at him, and he wanted to avoid that as much as possible. As he pulled up his jeans, something caught his eye.

 

Lance's helmet lay forgotten where he had thrown it against the wall. Keith picked it up gingerly. He turned it so the visor faced him and chewed the inside of his cheek. He could leave it here and pretend he never saw it.

 

Or he could use it as an excuse to go to Lance's room. Maybe he could work an apology into a conversation. That would be less embarrassing than hunting him down just to make amends.

 

\-----------------------

 

Fucking Keith.

 

Lance sulked down the hallway. He'd managed to shake Pidge and Hunk half an hour ago (or... half a varga ago? Space time was confusing...) by ducking into his room and turning on the shower. He'd waited until he was sure they had left before changing into his plain clothes and doubling back to the blue lion's hanger to retrieve his jacket and return his armor.

 

He'd needed a walk. Back on earth, fresh air had always done wonders to clear his head. Out in space, there was a distinct lack of fresh air available, but the Castle of Lions was vast and largely unexplored. There were countless deserted rooms with new and interesting alien paraphernalia to investigate. Wandering the hallways aimlessly was endlessly amusing and usually an okay substitute for the distraction of fresh, wonderful, earth air.

 

Not tonight, though. Because fucking Keith.

 

He wasn't a shitty pilot. He had made it into the most prestigious flight school on earth. Sure, Keith was a prodigy. There was no way to deny that. But even so, Lance was easily the second best pilot in the Garrison. He definitely would have made the list of top 100 best pilots in the world, if he'd actually made it through his training, instead of disappearing through a wormhole in a giant, mechanical cat and ending up on the other side of the universe. And if a list like that actually existed.

 

Intellectually, he knew all of this. But the emotional, insecure part of his brain sometimes had a bit of difficulty wrapping its self around the fact that he didn't completely suck at everything. Especially when it was given information supporting it's "you suck at everything" theory. Especially when that information was coming from someone that was, objectively, better than him at basically everything.

 

"FUCKING KEITH!!" Lance kicked the wall.

 

That was a bad idea.

 

The wall, being a literal wall of mostly indestructible, alien metal, remained predictably intact. His foot, being a soft, fleshy sack of human bone and muscle and tendons, fared less well.

 

"FUCK."

 

Lance leaned against the wall, hopping on his uninjured foot. Cautiously, he flexed his toes. They throbbed angrily, but he could tell from experience that nothing was broken. Thank god.

 

He let himself slide down the wall and spread his legs out in front of him. The opposite wall had a window with a view of the night sky.

 

Well, not the sky, he reasoned. Space didn't have sky. Or night. But there were stars. Instinctively he looked for Polaris, before remembering it wasn't there. None of the consolations were familiar to him out here. They were foreign. Dangerous, even. They no longer brought him the same sense of security that they had on earth.

 

"Because they're not my stars..." he mumbled under his breath.

 

Loneliness enveloped him like a miasma. The corners of his eyes burned. He crossed his legs and leaned in, resting his elbows on his thigh. He ground the heels of his palms into his eyes furiously, pushing back the tears. This was all fucking Keith's fucking fault. If they couldn't work together as a team they were all going to die. Out here in space. Alone. Their families would never know what happened to them. The universe would be doomed. Even without Zarkon, the Galra Empire would continue to expand and eventually it would reach earth, and their families would die.

 

Tonight had been a close call. Keith was supposed to have been on Pidge's flank while they disabled the ion canon. But, without warning, Keith had flown off leaving the green lion completely open to Galra fire.

 

Hunk had scrambled to cover them, and the yellow lion ended up taking a lot of damage. Lance and Shiro returned fire on the fleet but, because Pidge had been unable to finish disarming the ion canon, it had overloaded.

 

They had had just enough time, after Pidges frantic warning over the coms, to haul ass away from the battle cruiser before it exploded. And even though they had gotten out of fiery ball of death range, the lions had been thrown by the pressure blast and knocked offline. They'd floated aimlessly through space, with no way of communicating with each other or with the castle, for hours before the lions recovered.

 

Lance was seething. Since Shiro's return, Keith had become increasingly reckless. It had started out with small things: training at higher levels than he could beat, daredevil ariel stunts with the red lion, hastily taking on Galra combatants without waiting for backup. But this. This was taking things too far. Today wasn't instinctual. It was rash and careless. And it had nearly gotten them all killed. He didn't know what Keith was trying to accomplish, but if he was trying to kill himself, Lance definitely didn't want to end up as collateral damage.

 

What had that 'we'd be better of if you were dead' bit been about anyway? Those weren't the exact words Keith had used, but it seemed like it was what he'd been getting at. Sure, the two of them weren't best friends or anything. They bickered constantly and Lance took great pleasure in antagonizing Keith at every possible moment. But, for all of their fighting, Lance still liked Keith. And he thought Keith had liked him too. Or at least tolerated him. But saying something so malicious... Maybe Keith really didn't care what happened to him.

 

The thought made Lance's chest tighten. He cared what happened to Keith... In fact, he cared what happened to Keith a lot. He was a good teammate. And he used an awesome sword like a samurai. He was agile and skilled at close quarters combat. And his lion had firepower, which was really cool. He was sarcastic and witty and...

 

Something about him had always made Lance's stomach lurch and his palms sweat. At first, he'd chalked it up to how much he hated him. But when the hatred had gone away and the squishy feeling in his stomach hadn't he had begun to suspect it might be something else. Keith had a nice face. His hair, while unfortunately styles, looked soft and tempting. And his body... Lance had struggled to maintain his anger while watching him change in the hanger. His point was, he was very pretty. And, while Lance may not have gotten the chance to completely figure out his sexuality back on earth, he knew enough to know that he liked pretty. Too bad they were fighting a space war and Keith was literally the worst.

 

He sighed and stood up carefully and put a little weight on his injured foot, experimentally. It still ached, but not so badly that he couldn't walk like normal. He was still furious, but Coran had promised chores in the morning and he needed to sleep.

 

Maybe if none of this had happened... Maybe if the Kerberos crew hadn't been abducted by evil aliens. Maybe if Keith hadn't gone batshit after Shiro went missing and gotten himself kicked out of the Garrison. Maybe if they'd never found the blue lion on earth and been forced into a war with the fate of the universe at stake. Maybe if Keith liked dudes. Maybe then getting distracted by his pretty hair and soft skin and toned body wouldn't be a colossal waste of time.

 

He reached his room faster than he'd expected. Just as he was about to turn the corner, he heard a sound. Instinctively, he flattened himself against the wall. Months fighting a war in space had taught him not to ignore unfamiliar noises, but he sincerely doubted the shuffling was dangerous. Even so, he wasn't quite ready to talk to anyone. He poked his head around the corner stealthily, expecting to see Hunk or even Shiro loitering outside his room.

 

What he hadn't expected to see was Keith. He paced back and forth, looking anxious. There was a small flutter in Lance's chest, and his anger waned slightly. He stifled a laugh as he watched as Keith approached his door and raised his hand to knock, before shaking his head slightly and dancing back like it would bite him if he dared touch it. He did this a few times while Lance watched. He debated taking another lap around the castle and coming back when Keith was gone. He wasn't sure he had another confrontation in him tonight.

 

But as Keith's knuckles made contact with the door, his body seemed to make his decision for him. The whole scene had been so ridiculous, he couldn't resist.

 

\-----------------------

 

He'd been standing outside Lance's door for almost 15 minutes. This was getting ridiculous. He just wanted to return his stupid helmet. And maybe apologize for being a total dick, if he would work it into the conversation without making it weird. But for some reason, every time he tried to knock, his chest would become unbearably tight and his palms would start sweating.

 

He had never been great at apologies. It went along with that whole "bad with emotions" thing that he had. Sorry was not a word that came naturally to him. He'd been told to apologize for hitting a kid once in 3rd grade. He'd faked having the flu for two weeks and by the time he came back to school the teacher had forgotten. Because even as a kid he knew saying sorry meant admitting that you'd done something wrong. And Keith hated being wrong.

 

He swallowed had and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, before raising his hand again. He steeled himself with a couple of deep breaths, then knocked twice. Loudly. Was that too loud? Was that an aggressive knock? He hadn't meant to knock that hard. He took a couple of large steps back and held his breath.

 

"Yeah?"

 

Keith choked and Lance's helmet slipped. He fumbled and clutched it to his chest to keep from dropping it. Lance leaned against the wall, casual and cool, his arms crossed across his chest. He looked deeply amused. Keith felt his ears go pink. He subconsciously tightened his grip on Lance's helmet.

 

"H-how long have you been there?"

 

"Dunno. A few minutes, maybe? It is my room." Lance pushed off the wall lazily and walked towards him. Keith instinctively took a step back, "What are you doing here? And..uh... why are you hugging my helmet?"

 

"Oh. You... Er..." This plan was suddenly feeling dumber and dumber with every passing moment. He shoved the helmet into Lance's hands, praying that it wasn't sweaty from his palms, and took another step back, crossing his arms defensively "You left it in Red's hanger so..."

 

"Why didn't you just leave it in Blue's hanger then?" Lance tucked it under his arm "That's where the rest of my armor is."

 

Keith kicked himself mentally. Why hadn't he just done that? Because he hadn't thought of it. Because he was an idiot.

 

"I uh... I wanted to say sorry for earlier I guess." He mumbled, staring intensely at a patch of ground between them. There was a scuff on the smooth floor. "I was uh... I was kind of a dick..."

 

"I think nearly getting everyone killed is a little more than dickish but..."

 

Wait, that wasn't what he'd meant. Keith frowned and looked up at Lance.

 

"Oh. No, I meant I'm sorry about the shitty pilot thing," he said.

 

Lance, who had been fiddling absently with the padding of his helmet, froze. His eyes narrowed, and he took a step towards Keith.

 

Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say...

 

"So wait. You're not sorry for abandoning Pidge and almost getting us all killed in space?" his voice was low.

 

Yeah, that had been the wrong thing to say.

 

Lance wasn't much taller than Keith. Maybe an inch, if he was being generous. But his aggressive stance was making Keith feel small. He stood up straighter, mirroring Lance. He didn't like feeling small.

 

"I was doing what I thought was right." He said, evenly.

 

Lance threw his hands up "You are un-fucking-believable, you know that? Why can't you just admit that you fucked up? For once!"

 

Keith's face was red. He didn't know if it was from embarrassment or anger. Probably both. He didn't care.

 

"I literally just apologized."

 

"For something that doesn't matter!"

 

"You know what? I tried. I'm tired. I'm going to bed." Keith turned and started down the hallway towards his room.

 

Before he'd taken more than a few steps, a hand clamped down on his shoulder and spun him around. His preservation instinct kicked in, and he raised his arms to keep distance between them.

 

"Don't you even care?" Lance had a grip on both of his arms "Pidge is just a kid! They could have died if Hunk hadn't jumped in! You could have gotten all of us killed! You... you could have died!" Lance was shaking him. His voice was strained.

 

Keith's body was hot. Lance's hands on him felt like fire. His deep blue eyes locked on him was too much. His eyes flicked around helplessly, trying to avoid his piercing gaze. He felt paralyzed.

 

He did care. He cared that Pidge was just a kid. They were going through so much, it wasn't fair that they'd been forced into this war. He cared that Lance and Hunk were homesick. He might not understand it himself, but he understood that they were in pain. And the thought of losing Shiro again made him sick.

 

In fact, the only person who's death didn't scare him it was his own. He didn't have a family to miss or a home to be sick for. All he had was this. The mission. If he died carrying it out, it was no great loss.

 

As suddenly as Lance had grabbed him, he let go. Keith, not anticipating the loss, stumbled back slightly.

 

"I just don't get you, man..." Lance turned to retrieve his helmet, which he'd dropped during the fight "We've all spend this much time together and we're still expendable to you? I mean, even if you don't care about me or Hunk or Pidge I thought you at least cared about Shiro or yourself..."

 

"H-hey, that's not..." Keith croaked. His throat suddenly felt very dry. There were too many words in his head. But he couldn't get any of them out.

 

"Whatever dude. I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

 

The door to Lance's room shut quietly, leaving Keith in the deserted hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first story I've written in a very long time, so I'm a bit rusty. Let me know where you'd like to see this go. I have a general direction in mind, but feedback is welcome and encouraged!


	2. Chapter 2

Lance leaned back on the door, sighing heavily, and ran his fingers through his hair.

 

 

He listened for the sound of Keith's footsteps retreating down the hallway, before shrugging his jacket off and sighing again. He crossed the room with two steps and threw himself face first onto his bed.

 

Keith's face danced behind his closed eyelids. He kicked his shoes off, and replayed the scene in this mind. He tried to remember Keith's teeth as he'd chewed nervously on his lip. The crease that had formed between his dark, furrowed brows. The angry, crimson flush that had bloomed across his face and down his neck. How his dark eyes had darted uncomfortable unable to hold his gaze for more than a moment. How warm his arms had felt under Lance's hands.

 

With a different mood, and a different set of circumstances, it actually would have been pretty hot. If Lance hadn't been so pissed off, he might have been turned on.

 

Eh... Scratch that. According to the heat in his belly and ache in his jeans, being pissed and being horny apparently weren't mutually exclusive.

 

"Not now, teenage hormones..." he groaned into his pillow. His cock throbbed in protest. If telling it to stop worked, awkward boners wouldn't happen in math class.

 

Lance rolled onto his back so he couldn't rub against his mattress. Normally, he didn't have any qualms about getting himself off while thinking about his super hot teammates. He lived with attractive people, fantasizing about them occasionally wasn't harmful. But getting off while thinking about Keith right after such a serious fight felt wrong somehow. Vulgar.

 

He threw an arm over his eyes, trying to push the thought of Keith's lips out of his mind. His soft, chapped lips. Raw and red and swollen from being chewed. He groaned. Seriously, he needed to stop.

 

Why had he been waiting outside his room, anyway? He wasn't the type to apologize. Shiro had probably told him too. But even if he had... Keith could have ignored him. It wasn't like Keith didn't ignore Shiro all the time, when it came to things that didn't involve the mission. Shiro was like his brother, so he didn't have the same reverence for him as Lance did.

 

Maybe he had been too harsh. If Keith had come by, it had been because he genuinely felt bad. Lance heaved himself into an upright position and pulled at his hair, frustrated. So, did Keith actually think he was a good pilot? Or did he just feel bad for telling him he was shitty?

 

Lance swung his legs over the edge of his bed and tugged his shirt up over his head, tossing it carelessly into the corner.

 

There was a pang of guilt in his chest. Either way, Keith had cared enough about Lances feelings to swallow his pride and say he was sorry. Even if it had been clumsy and even if he'd apologized for something relatively small in the grand scheme of things that he'd fucked up that day, he'd genuinely tried. And Lance had ripped his head off for it.

 

He'd definitely been too harsh. But there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Maybe a shower would alleviate some of his guilt. And maybe a cold shower could alleviate... other things.

 

\---------

Keith was extra slow waking up the next morning. He had missed breakfast entirely and, according to the Altean clocks, it was nearly noon by earth times.

 

He hadn't slept well after the fight with Lance. It had taken hours for his mind to stop replaying their conversation back in his head. He got dressed and brushed his teeth sluggishly before dragging himself down to the kitchens to find something to eat.

 

Everyone else was already there when he arrived. Hunk nodded at him as he slumped down at the table and took the bowl of space goo that Pidge shoved in his direction, then went back to talking to Coran and Pidge about how to theoretically weaponized the castles particle barrier.

 

The mood in the room was unusually subdued. He wondered vaguely if everyone had slept as badly as he had. He hoped not. Normally he wouldn't mind the quiet, but he'd grown accustom to the rambunctiousness of his team. The lack of teasing from Lance, especially, was unsettling. He hadn't acknowledged him at all since he'd arrived, chatting animatedly with the princess. Keith snuck a glance at him and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. His stomach felt weird.

 

Shiro slid gracefully into the empty seat next to Keith and nudged him gently with his elbow.

 

"I thought you were going to apologize to him." The chatter in the room was quiet, but everyone was distracted enough with their own conversations that they could talk privately if they kept their voices down.

 

"I did. It didn't take."

 

"What do you mean it didn't take?"

 

Keith stabbed at his space goo and huffed irritably. It was loud enough for Coran to look over and raise an eyebrow. Not for the first time, he wondered how much more Altean ears could hear than they let on. He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly very self conscious.

 

"I mean," he hissed "It was bad. I tried, he didn't like what I had to say, and then we screamed at each other."

 

Okay, so, technically Lance had done all of the screaming. But for some reason that was a lot more embarrassing to say out loud.

 

Shiro sighed and gave him a sympathetic pat on the arm.

 

"Right! If everyone's about done, I think it's high time we divvy up the days tasks!" Coran clapped his hands together gleefully. He got far too excited about assigning chores. 

 

A wave of half-hearted protest rose up around the table. Pidge groaned dramatically and dropped their head to the table with a worrying thud. 

 

"Right! Shiro!" Coran started down his checklist "I'll need some help trouble shooting the training simulator. The gladiators have been a bit fritzy lately, I want to get that fixed today." 

 

Shiro hummed in acknowledgment.

  

"Hunk. The yellow lion sustained some serious damage. I want you to fix 'er up and then check that the rest of the lions are in proper working order. Last night really roughed them up!"

 

"Already on it." Hunk gave a casual salute before pushing out from the table and leaving.

 

"Pidge," Pidge whined loudly, head still on the table. Coran ignored them "I need you to sort through the all incoming distress signals. Find out which ones are outdated, what's new, what seems urgent and such. The princess can help you with any translations you might need."

  

"Fine..." Pidge yawned widely before shuffling off in the direction of the flight deck. Allura gave a small wave, before leaving with Pidge.  

 

"Keith, Lance. I need you to go through and take inventory of the medical supplies. All of these prisoners we've freed recently have really depleted our stash. Well need to make a supply run soon and we need to know what to get. Also, give the healing pods a good scrub down."

 

Keith blanched. After last night, working alone with Lance was the last thing he wanted to do. Judging from the way Lance groaned and flopped back in his chair dramatically, he didn't seem happy about working with him, either.

 

"Uh, why don't I trade with Shiro? I'll help you with the gladiators and Shiro can take inventory with Lance."

 

"Nope." Coran twirled his mustache absently, not bothering to look up from his list "Shiro has the best stamina and I don't know how long we'll have to test the training sequences. It's better that you deal with things in the med bay."

 

"Wait, but-" It was Lance's turn to be indignant.

 

"Coran is right." Shiro cut him off, standing up from the table "I know you two have your problems with each other right now, but the med bay is big enough that if you're doing two different tasks, you shouldn't be tripping over each other."

 

"But-"

 

"No buts, Keith." Shiro took his arm and pulled him out of his chair "Get going. The sooner you finish the sooner you don't have to deal with each other anymore." He pushed him gently in the direction of the door.

 

Keith sighed. He knew Shiro well enough to know he was doomed to an afternoon stuck in a room with the one person on the ship that he was sure hated him.

 

\------

 

 Lance hadn't really spent too much time in the med bay. Medical stuff had never really been his thing, and what time he had spent there hadn't exactly been pleasant, so he'd avoided it as much as he could.

 

But Shiro was right, it was huge. There were nine cryopods surrounding a podium that controlled the room and monitored activity in the pods. Lance and Keith walked to the podium and Lance input a series of commands. The pods rose out off the floor around them, and the invisible door to the supply closet hissed open.

 

Lance sulked, walking over to the supply closet. Keith trailed along after him, wordlessly.

 

This sucked. He'd felt bad when he woke up, but when Keith hadn't even showed upto breakfast and hadn't even bothered to acknowledge him when he came down for lunch, he'd gotten angry again. Okay, so he never really acknowledged anyone. But it had pissed him off anyway. And then Shiro had sat next to him and they'd started whispering together and any residual guilt he'd had about being too mean last night had morphed into annoyance.

 

He stuck his head in the closet and looked around. It was pretty small, about the size of a walk-in closet. There were metal shelves lining the wall, with bottles and boxes of medical supplies.  

 

"Let's just get this over with," Lance huffed. He grabbed a rag and bucket off of the bottom shelf and headed back to the cryopods "I'll do this. You inventory supplies." 

 

"Huh? Wait, I..." 

 

"What?" He rounded on Keith "Why are you trying to make this difficult? Just do your job!" His body was tense, ready for another fight.  

 

But to his surprise, Keith rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his gaze, before turning to the shelves and picking up a small, clear bottle.

 

Lance felt a small pang of guilt, but pushed it down, reasoning the faster they got finished, the faster they'd be rid of each other.

 

A few minutes passed in relative silence. Lance was scrubbing hard at a stubborn spot when he heard a frustrated groan. 

 

"Hey... switch with me. I can't read this." Keith's voice floated out of the supply closet. 

 

Lance stood up, wiping soapy water off onto his jeans as he walked back across the room. Keith was holding the same little bottle he had picked up earlier out at arm's length, squinting. 

 

"What d'you mean you can't read it? Pidge translated all the labels from altean ages ago. Is their handwriting just really bad?" Lance picked up a bottle of small white pills and brought it up to his face. Pidge had printed the words clearly in small, uppercase block lettering. 

 

"N-no their handwriting is fine, I just... just switch with me. Cleaning the pods is more work anyway."

 

"Oh no!" Lance shoved the bottle back onto the shelf "I've already started! Just write down what we have left!" 

 

He whirled around, intending to stomp loudly back to the cryo pods. Yeah, it was more work, but Keith wanted to do it so badly, he wasn't going to let him out of spite.

  

"I can't!"

 

He stopped and turned slowly, eyes narrow. Why was he making such a big deal about this? He had the easy job! 

 

Keith fidgeted with the bottle, frowning deeply. Lance noticed, curiously, his ears had gone bright red and he looked uncomfortable. 

 

"What do you mean you can't?"

 

"I... I can't see it, okay?" Keith blushed furiously.

 

"What? What's wrong, are you sick?" a wave of worry washed over him instantaneously. Impulsively he took a few steps closer and put a hand on Keith's forehead. Keith swatted him away, looking irritated.

 

"I'm fine, I just..." Keith shrugged "I left my reading glasses back on earth..."

 

Lance choked back a laugh the bubbled up in the back of his throat.

 

"Your WHAT?"

 

"Just switch with me!"

 

Keith tried to shoved the bottle into Lance's hands. Lance fumbled, trying to close his fingers around it, but his hands were wet and slick from the soapy water and Keith let go too quickly. It slipped through his fingers, fell to the floor with a clatter, and rolled under the shelf.

 

"Ah! Shit! Sorry!" 

 

Both boys ducked down to retrieve the bottle at the same time but they were too close in the small closet and their heads crashed together painfully.

 

"Stop, I'll get it!" Keith growled. 

 

Lance stood up quickly, his palms in front of him in a placating gesture. Keith dropped to his knees to get the bottle as it rolled under the shelf.

 

There was a moment of silence, as Keith fished around under the shelf.

 

  
_"Well, this isn't the worst view in the world..."_ Lance thought idly. His eyes passed over the exposed skin on Keith's lower back.

 

"Did uh... did you say your glasses?"

 

Keith grunted and brought himself back up to his knees, the bottle clutched in his hand. This actually wasn't a bad view either. Keith kneeling in front of him, his hair soft hair slightly disheveled... 

 

There was a sudden familiar and completely unwelcome heat in his belly. This was _definitely_ not the time or place for that. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind for later and held out a hand to help Keith to his feet. Keith sighed and settled himself back on his heels, ignoring Lance's hand. He realized, with horror, that Keith wasn't planning to get back up immediately. 

 

"Yeah." He rolled the bottle between his palms "I'm really far-sighted... My visions great if things are far away, but anything closer than a few feet..." he shrugged and brushed his hair behind his ear. 

 

Lance didn't miss the embarrassed flush on Keith's face. Or the fact that it went straight to his groin. He shifted his weight to his other foot hoping his jeans were loose enough that Keith couldn't see anything.

 

"Why didn't I know this? Do the others know this? How did you make it this long in space without being able to see? How do you fly Red?" Lance stared determinedly at the shelf above Keith's head.

 

"Huh?" Keith looked surprised by questions and scratched his ear "Oh... er well... in order? It's not a you thing, I just didn't tell anyone..." he twisted a lock of hair between his fingers "Shiro knows, but he knew before all of this happened so it's not news. And is not like I can't see, I just can't read without getting a bad headache. And the visors in the helmets work like glasses. Pidge doesn't have to wear theirs when they fly either."

 

He put his hands on his knees and pushed himself to his feet. Lance tried to take a step back and knocked into the shelf behind him. This supply closet definitely hadn't been this small two minutes ago. 

 

"So will you do it?"

 

"Huh?"

  

"Switch with me."

 

"Ah..." Keith was too close. He could see flecks of blue in his grey eyes. He smelled sweet and citrusy. Lance swallowed hard, trying to focus "I guess if you can't see, I don't really have much choice, right?" 

 

Keith's arm brushed against him as he pushed past with a nod and took Lance's place cleaning the cryo pods. When Lance was sure he was safely out of sight, he took a deep, calming breath and clutched his chest. That boy did things to him. Shit. And he didn't even realize it. 

 

They worked silently. The cryo pods squeaked under the soapy rag and bottles clinked as they were taken off the metallic shelves for inspection.

 

Coran was right, they were dramatically low on supplies. One more hostage rescue or unexpected attack would wipe them out. The cryopods diverted too much power from the castle's main engines to be used for anything other than an emergency. Luckily, they'd only needed to use them once so far.  

 

Lance marked the last of their stock and stretched. Finished. That hadn't taken as long as he'd expected it would. But he could still hear Keith scrubbing away in the main room. He poked his head out of the supply closet. Keith had his hair pulled back into a messy knot on the back of his head, and he'd ditched his jacket. Strands of his fringe were plastered to his forehead. Nice.

 

Lance thought for a moment, before grabbing a rag from the bottom shelf and striding over to the pod next to the one Keith was cleaning.

  

"Is this the last one?" Keith nodded "Mind if I help?"

 

Keith grunted and bobbed his head once. Lance took that as a yes. He shrugged off his jacket, discarding it next to Keith's, and rolled up his sleeves.

  

"Hey. Don't tell anyone."

  

"Hm?" He looked up from the pod and over at Keith "Oh you mean about the farsighted thing." 

 

Keith bobbed his head again. Lance wasn't sure if he was red from the exertion or if he was embarrassed. 

 

"I don't get why its a secret. I mean I won't say anything if you don't want me to. But I don't get it." 

 

They lapsed into silence again. Cleaning without music felt odd to him. That wasn't how he did things back home. On earth, there was always music playing. As it turned out, music was harder to come by out in space. He thought briefly about bursting into song, but decided that would be weird. He compromised by singing under his breath as he wiped down the outside of the pods. 

 

"I don't want them to think I'm weak." 

 

Lance nearly dropped his rag. He wasn't sure what type of answer he'd been expecting, but it hasn't been that. Laughter caught in the back of his throat. 

 

"You're kidding, right? Oh man, that's so stupid!" 

 

"Dude!" Keith rounded on him looking indignant. Lance laughed.

 

"No, no, I don't mean you're stupid. I mean, the idea that they'd think you're weak cause your vision sucks is stupid." He rung his rag out and tossed it into the bucket "Not to inflate your ego, but like, I don't think anyone could ever think  _you_ were weak." 

 

"Oh. Um. Thanks." Keith mumbled. Jeez, this boy could blush. Why had he never noticed that before? It was adorable. "So... I guess we're done?" 

 

"Yeah, I guess so," Lance sat down on the step and stretched his arms over his head "but you know if we go tell Coran he's just gonna shove more chores on us." 

 

"Like, he'll make us sanitize the food goo nozzles or mop all of the two thousand hallways," Keith smirked and sat down beside Lance. 

 

"Or maybe we'll have to scale the castle and wash the windows. Or polish the airlock. Let's hide out here till dinner. It's probably safer." 

 

"As long as Hunk's cooking, it'll be safer. If it's Coran, I think I'd take my chances clinging to the outside of a castle hurdling through space." Keith laughed.

 

 It was a nice laugh, Lance thought. he grinned and they fell into a comfortable silence. Lance folded his arms behind his head and laid back, closing his eyes. The floor was hard, but it was cold and soothing. He hummed to himself. There was a quiet whir coming from somewhere in the room. The white noise was soothing. This was nice. His mind started to drift. 

 

"What was it like?" 

 

"Huh?" Lance opened one eye to look at Keith. He could only see his back from this position. His weight was on his hands and his legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. 

 

"Being in the cryo pods. Was it like... sleeping?" Keith leaned back on his elbows and turned to look at Lance. His face was soft and pensive. "It looked like you were sleeping." 

 

"Oh. Er..." Lance closed his eyes again with a frown. 

 

"You don't have to tell me." Keith said quickly "I was just curious." 

 

"Nah, it's fine." Lance waved a hand dismissively "Uh... It wasn't really like sleeping. It was more like..." he thought for a minute. Keith was quiet, giving him time to collect his thoughts. "So, I got my appendix taken out when I was 12. And when they put me under, the doctor said it was just like going to bed, except when I woke up I'd feel better. But it was more like I'd closed my eyes for a second and when I opened them everything was different. Like I'd jumped through time and suddenly I was down one organ and I had a cool new scar." 

 

"So... it felt like anesthesia?"  

 

Lance heard Keith sigh and then a soft thump as he laid down on the floor beside him. Lance turned his head to look at him. He'd taken his hair down while Lance was talking and now it fell in gentle curls on the ground around his head. He almost looked disappointed.

 

"I guess that makes sense," he continued. His eyes were soft and unfocused as he stared at the ceiling "the first thing the princess did when we woke her up was call out for her father. And then she fell on you." He turned his head a fraction of an inch to look at him. Their eyes met for a moment a there was a flutter in Lance's chest. 

 

"Everyone falls for me eventually!" He joked with a wink. 

 

Keith blew air through his lips in a way that could easily either be annoyance or amusement and looked back up at the ceiling. 

 

"Why'd you want to know about the pods?" 

 

"I don't know." Keith tried to shrug, but laying on his back made it an awkward "Don't you ever just want to sleep?" He sighed deeply, seemingly unaware that Lance was still watching him closely "Everything's just so fucked up right now. The idea of crawling into a cryopod for a year till things get worked out..." his eyes flicked over to Lance's for a moment "...you looked peaceful, I guess. Like, it would be..." he trailed off, and waved his hand vaguely in the air, as if he was fishing for the right word. After a few moments he gave up and let his arm drop over his face, covering his eyes.

 

Well..." Lance considered his words carefully. He didn't mind deep conversation, usually, but this felt like more Hunk or Shiro territory. He didn't think any he could say seriously would be useful. "Coran would probably tell you that diverting power to the cryopods for an extended period of time would be hard on the castle, while the castles busy being a space ship." 

 

Keith hummed in agreement. 

 

"And the princess would say that we don't know how long-term stasis could affect the human body," He grinned and nudged Keith with his elbow "but then Hunk would remind everyone that you're Galra Keith and wonder if you'd turn purple."

  

Keith nodded, still looking serious. 

 

"Of course, Pidge would be spurred on to make the pods more energy efficient because Pidge and Hunk would think the idea of a fluffy Galra Keith is both hilarious and adorable." 

 

Keith blew a puff of air between his lips and fought back a smile.  

 

"Oh, and then Shiro would yell at them to stop screwing around because," Lance cleared his throat and put on his best Shiro voice "We have a universe to liberate, the Paladins of Voltron don't have time to play games and turn purple!"

 

Keith snorted loudly and clapped his hand over his mouth. It hadn't been that funny, but Lance found himself giggling maniacally. Soon Keith had joined in. His laughter was deep and raspy, but entirely infectious. Lance's heart fluttered again.  

 

The laughter died down after a couple of minutes. Lance wheezed slightly, still grinning, his hand pressed to his chest. Keith wiped his eyes on the back of his hand. His smile was soft. 

 

"What would Lance say? In this hypothetical situation in which everyone is deciding if I should be in a cryo pod for a year?" 

 

Lance's grin fell slightly. He didn't know.  

 

"Paladins! Dinner time!" Coran's voice boomed overt the castle intercom, causing both of then to jump.

 

Lance pushed himself to his feet and held out his hand. Keith eyed it warily, before grabbing it and allowing himself to be hoisted up. His hands were hard and calloused against Lance's. He let go quickly and retrieved his jacket. Lance knocked the non-existent dirt off the back of his jeans and did the same. 

 

The mood had gone chilly in an instant. That was how things worked with them, and it was frustrating. One moment they'd be getting along fine and the next, it was like they were strangers. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Keith pulled his gloves and jacket back on and stretched, before starting to the door without a word.  

 

Suddenly, it hit him. This would either be an incredibly awkward thing to say, or it would be perfect. No time to think it over.

 

"Wait!" Lance caught Keith's elbow. He felt him tense under his hand, but he didn't give any indication that he was going to pull away "Hypothetically, Lance would probably say..." he blushed when Keith turned towards him, curiously "he'd be really bummed if you had to be frozen for a year. He'd miss hypothetical Keith. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on trying to make their voices more distinct in the different povs. I'm trying to approach it as a stream of consciousness rather than them have too many specific distinct thoughts if that makes sense?
> 
> Feedback is appreciated! Please let me know where you'd like to see this story go!


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

Keith hadn't seen much of Lance in the past few days. Coran had had a list of chores a mile long so they'd all been working nonstop for the last week. With the exception of meals, he had barely seen anyone. It wasn't like he'd been avoiding him, necessarily. It's just that they'd all been really busy.

 

Keith sighed. Okay, so he'd been avoiding him a little bit. Chores were just a convenient excuse. 

 

He hadn't meant to overshare. He'd honestly just been curious about Lance's experience with the cryo pods. He didn't feel comfortable asking Allura or Coran since their time in stasis had been traumatic. But then he'd gone and blurted out something depressing and embarrassing and personal. He'd been glad the Lance hadn't seemed to have picked up on the sobriety of his comments.

 

Lance had a way of bringing levity to otherwise bleak situations. So Keith hadn't been surprised when his answer had been a joke. What _had_ surprised him was when Lance had faltered when Keith asked what his opinion would have been, in this hypothetical situation. The mood had gone from light and carefree to tense and uncomfortable almost instantaneously. He'd been deeply relieved when Coran's voice had blared over the intercoms, calling them to dinner.

 

But then Lance had grabbed his arm and said _that_. And he'd run off before Keith had even had a chance to wrap his brain around what he meant, leaving him completely dumbstruck.  

 

"...he'd miss hypothetical Keith."  

 

It wasn't a big, earth-shattering revelation or anything. In fact, it would have been barely worth remembering. Except Lance had look so goddamn earnest. There had been a fierce sincerity in his eyes that had caught Keith completely off guard. Every time he thought about it, his heart skipped a beat. It was an unfamiliar and unsettling sensation. He didn't like it. It had taken him  a while to realize what it was, but when he had, he was mortified.

 

These were _feelings_. Heavy feelings. For Lance.

 

Keith rolled over on to his stomach and wrapped his arms around his pillow, tucking it under his chin and pouting. It wasn't that he hadn't had crushes before. It had just been a while since he'd been around anyone long enough for that to happen. What with his dad dying, busting his ass to get into the Garrison, Shiro disappearing, getting expelled, living like a hermit in that damn desert... He'd been busy. He hadn't really had time to notice anyone.

 

He shoved his face into the pillow to muffle and exasperated scream. Somehow that stupid jerk had gotten so far under Keith's skin that he'd wormed his way into his heart. That fucking asshole.

 

Keith didn't like having feeling. He'd noticed when he was fairly young that his always seemed like they were way more intense than everyone else's. Emotions were messy and hard to control. And right now, fighting an inter galactic space war with the fate of the entire universe on his shoulders, there wasn't any time for messy. Lord knows, he was already having enough trouble keeping his cool. Having a crush on Lance complicated things way too much. For now, he needed to shove them deep, deep down and pretend they didn't exist.

 

There was a whoosh as the door to his room slid open suddenly. Keith yelped and scrambled into a combative position, throwing off his covers, knife in hand.

 

"Hey man, are you okay? I knocked like 5 times and you didn't answer." Lance asked as he walked in to his room. He stopped when he saw Keith crouching on his bed, poised to attack. As his eyes flicked from the him to the bedding on the floor to the knife in Keith's hand, the corners of his mouth turned up into a smirk. "Where you asleep or something?"

 

"No," Keith felt his muscles relax and he fell back onto his mattress with his legs crossed under him "I was thinking about... stuff..." he finished lamely and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

 

 "Oh?" Lance's grin widened and his eyes danced deviously "Were you doing something else? Maybe I should come back when you're finished?" he made a crude gesture with his hand and Keith felt his body get hot.

 

"I was not!" 

 

"Aw, it's okay. Everyone does it. Wasn't that a book? _Everyone jerks_ -"

 

"That was _not_ what that book was called!" Keith interrupted, "Anyway, who gets off in the middle of the day, you ass?" 

 

"There's no daytime in space, babe." Lance shrugged, looking smug "I'm not judging. Whatever happens between an man and his hand is none of my business." He grunted as Keith's pillow connected with his face. 

 

"You didn't come here just to make fun of me, right? What do you want, Lance?" 

 

"Ah! Right!" Lance tossed the pillow back to Keith, who caught it easily "Coran called for a meeting on the bridge. You didn't show up so they told me to come get you. Teasing you was just a nice bonus. I guess you missed the announcement?" 

 

"Shit, seriously?" Keith threw his legs over the edge of his bed and tugged his shoes on. Coran's voice over the intercoms was loud enough to wake him out of a sound sleep, how zoned out had he been to have missed it?

  

"There's no rush." Lance leaned against the wall his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets, watching him lazily "I think we're just gonna be briefed for a supply run or something. Everyone was pretty chill when I left."

 

"Are we headed to Plao again?"  Keith grabbed his jacket from the hook on the wall and shoved his arms through the sleeves forcefully.

 

Lance shook his head "Nah. I think we're in the Bulia nebula right now. My guess is that, since were low on medical supplies, Coran wants us to try to stay out of any serious trouble till were stocked up. High chance of success with minimal risk to our poor fleshy human bodies."

 

"Well, I liked the Plao market." Keith tried half-heartedly to pull his fingers through his tangled hair, then turned to leave. 

 

Lance snorted and pushed himself off the wall "Yeah, you _would_ like the one with the seedy underground fighting ring. Whoop. Hold on a second." 

 

Lance's hand closed around the collar of Keith's jacket, tugging him backwards. A shiver went down his spine as he felt Lance's long fingers brush the back of his neck, and his breath caught in his throat.

 

"Your tag was out." Lance smiled and let go oh his jacket, giving him a friendly pat on the back "Come on, let's go."

 

Keith stood there for a moment, heart beating wildly in his chest, before following after him. He was beginning to realize just what a difficult task pretending his feeling didn't exist was going to be.

 

 -------

 

 

"Found him!" Lance announced as he and Keith entered the bridge. He flopped over the back of Hunk's seat and threw his arms around his friend's neck.

 

Respecting peoples personal space had never been one of Lance's strong suits. He'd grown up in a big, touchy family, so it had never been an issue. He'd gotten better with boundaries at the Garrison but Hunk had never had a problem with being touched. Invading his personal bubble was familiar and comfortable. Hunk nodded and patted his arm warmly.

 

"Hey, is everything okay? Where were you?" Shiro asked.

 

"Sorry, I fell asleep," Keith said sheepishly.

 

Lance narrowed his eyes. No he hadn't. What had he been doing that was so personal that he would lie to Shiro about it? He wondered for a moment if he'd been right when he'd teased Keith about jacking off, but brushed it off. He'd been way too composed for someone who'd just been caught with his hand down his pants. It must have been something else.

 

He watched Shiro fuss over Keith and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Shiro had a very protective, mother hen like quality about him, especially when it came to his team mates. He was used to him worrying over whether they were all getting sleeping or training too hard or eating enough. For some reason, though, watching him put his hand on Keith's forehead really pissed him off today.

 

"Lance, buddy. I can physically feel you thinking right now." Hunk's voice interrupted his train of thought "What are you so tense about?"

 

"I'm not tense." Hunk raised an eyebrow "Okay, I'm tense. I don't know. His... stupid face pisses me off." Lance mumbled into Hunks shoulder.

 

"You should really cut Keith some slack." Hunk gave his arm a gentle squeeze "I feel like he's dealing with some heavy shit right now. Especially since Shiro got back."

 

" _Don't you ever just... want to sleep?_ " Lance had been thinking about that a lot in the past few days. The look on Keith's face when he'd said it had been vacant. Not sad, exactly, but there had been a certain despondency in his eyes. It was enough that it had raised tiny alarm bells in the back of his mind.

 

"What do you mean? Has he said anything to you?" Lance tried to keep his voice casual, but he could feel and edge of worry in it as he spoke.

 

"Nah, man. It's Keith. He'd never intentionally tell us if something was wrong." Hunk's shoulders shrugged under Lance's arms, shifting him slightly "He's just seem sorta off lately, you know? Like, I can feel it when were in the Lions. We're all so connected, sometimes it's hard to ignore. Just... you now, try not to antagonize him for a while, alright?"

 

Is that what he'd been feeling lately? Keith's off-ness? It made sense. Lance opened his mouth to reply, but Allura cut him off before he had the chance.

 

"As you all know, we're running extremely short on supplies at the moment." She said. She flicked her wrist and a holographic list appeared in front of her. No matter how long they'd been here, Lance never failed to be impressed by her easy control of the ships computer interface. "All of our rescue missions lately have nearly depleted our medical supplies. We need to get parts to get the gladiators back functioning at full capacity. We need a new carbon dioxide converter for the air filtration system and, while we have enough nutritional food substitute to last decapheebs, we should really pick up some kitchen staples while we're out. Goo isn't good for moral." She looked up from the list and around the room "Is there anything else we need to get while we're out?"

 

"Yeah, were low on a lot of hygiene products." said Hunk "Toothpaste, soap, shampoo..."

 

"Conditioner. Face wash. Lotion." Lance added.

 

"I need tampons and deodorant," Pidge said, raising their hand.

 

"Maybe some disposable razors, too?" Shiro rubbed his chin, thoughtfully.

 

"A sewing kit wouldn't be a bad idea." said Keith "I know it's not exactly essential, but I've got a couple of holes in my jacket that I'd like to be able to fix."

 

"Wow, that's really domestic of you, Keith."

 

"Shove it, Pidge. I love this jacket." Keith scowled.

 

"Okay, okay. Everyone make lists. We'll go over everything at dinner." Allura nodded "There's a trading post near by. Our intel says that there is a Galra presence there, but it's pretty lax so we shouldn't run into any real trouble if we blend in."

 

"We'll split up the lists and head down tomorrow to restock." Coran nodded "We'll be less conspicuous if we go in smaller groups than as a whole unit."

 

"How are we going to pay for everything?" Keith asked, "I didn't think we had any money, and this all seems kind of expensive."

 

"Ah! Right!" Coran snapped his fingers "I thought I was forgetting something!" he dug through his pockets and whipped out four round disks "The Blade of Marmora happens to be incredibly well financed, so they've set up these untraceable currency transfer plans, or CTP's for us! I'll be passing them out tomorrow before we leave!"

 

"Okay cool, but what are they?" Lance plucked on out of Coran's fingers and held it out. It was about the same diameter as a soda can, and thin, like a cd. It was sturdy and made of metal with symbols embossed around the outer edge.

 

"Are they like alien credit cards?" Hunk asked, tugging Lance's sleeve to get a better look.

 

"I don't know what a credit card is," Coran snatched the disk back from Lance, looking irritated "But this is a CTP Vark disk. You give it to the vendor, they scan it, and after 10 Quintents the agreed upon currency is exchanged onto the vendors Vark disk."

 

"Yeah, so it's a space credit card." Keith crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat with a smirk.

 

"So, right now we just need to make lists of stuff we need and we'll sort through everything at dinner?" Pidge stood up "If that's all, I think I'm gonna get back to working on my upgrades."

 

"Just make sure you have a complete list. We don't know when we'll be able to make another supply run so if there's anything you need urgently please make sure to include it!" Allura called after them. Pidge gave her a thumbs up and left for the Green Lions hanger.

 

"Well, I guess if we're getting ingredients tomorrow, I'll go all out on dinner tonight." Hunk untangled himself from Lance "Anyone want to help?"

 

"Sorry, I think I'm going to go up to the training deck." Keith stretched his arms above his head and the hem of his shirt lifted slightly, exposing a bit of his stomach "I'm pretty useless in the kitchen anyway."

 

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go take a look around the castle, make sure we haven't missed anything important." Shiro said "Princess, would you care to join me?"

 

"Yes, of course, Shiro. Anything you need." Allura answered a little too quickly.

 

Lance noticed Coran's eyebrow arch slightly and smirked. They had all the subtlety of a hand grenade.

 

"I can give Hunk a hand with dinner. Coran, you good here?"

 

"Happy as a Jubjub in a tree, number 3!" Coran replied merrily, waving them off.

 

Lance shrugged and left with Hunk to the kitchens.

 

"So what do you mean you can feel it when we're in the Lions?" Lance continued.

 

"What?" Hunk looked confused for a moment "Oh. You mean about Keith."

 

"Yeah."

 

"Man, I don't know..." Hunk shrugged "Like.. Since Shiro got back there's this... I guess I'm not sure how to describe it. Apathy or melancholy maybe?" he looked contemplative "Like, it's not sadness. It's more like he's just doesn't care. Or he cares too much? Shit, bro, I don't really have words for it. it's just feelings, you know?"

 

"So what, do you think he's like depressed or something?"

 

They'd reached the kitchens. Lance hopped up to sit on the counter while Hunk went around to the cupboards.

 

"Maybe." Hunk shrugged again "It kinds feels invasive talking about him like this. I think if you're worried about him you should talk to him yourself."

 

"Please, why would I be worried about _Keith_."

 

Hunk looked like he was about to say something but then thought better of it. He took a bowl of blue things, that looked like they could have been potatoes, out of a cabinet and set them down next to Lance. "Peel and cube these, please."

 

"So did you catch that not so subtle thing with Shiro and the princess back there?" Lance slipped off the counter and looked around for a peeler.

 

"Of course I did, I have eyes. Second drawer on you're left." he gestured with a white turnip looking vegetable "Did you see Coran's face?"

 

"He didn't look thrilled." Lance started peeling. The space potatoes were cotton candy pink under the skins and smelled vaguely of grapes "It's kind of sweet, though, don't you think?"

 

"Sweet?" Hunk tossed some vegetables into a stock pot.

 

"Yeah, it's pretty cute. I think they both feel kind of isolated with the whole age difference thing, you know? A relationship would be good for them, yeah?"

 

"Dude, that's really insightful? So you've given up on the princess? I thought you had a thing for her?"

 

Lance waved his hand dismissively "I never had a thing for her to begin with. Not really. I just think she's hot. I know I talk a big game, but I'm not conceited enough to think I could handle someone like Allura."

 

"Oh? Who do you think you could handle? Can you put those in a pot when you're done?"

 

"Eh, you know..." Lance chopped the space potatoes slowly "Someone more on my level, I guess?"

 

"Like Keith?"

 

"Sure, like..." Lance stopped for a second "Wait. No, why would you say like Keith? I don't want to handle Keith."

 

"Because, as we've established, I have eyes." Hunk grinned as he rubbed seasoning on to some sort of meat "I saw you drooling over his stomach when his shirt went up."

 

"Please. I check everyone out. I check you out all the time. but it's like" he raised his voice and octave to mimic himself "'Oh look. It's my super hot friend, the hunky Hunk. He's so fine and kind. Look how big his arms are. He work out.' But it's not like I want to bang or anything." he shrugged non-committally "Just cause he's pretty and fun to mess with doesn't mean I want to handle him."

 

"You think Keith's pretty?"

 

Lance didn't blush much around Hunk. They were best friends. They knew everything about each other. Even the embarrassing stuff. Especially the embarrassing stuff. Despite himself, though, his ears started to turn red.

 

"I thought you said you had eyes? He's not the only one though, it's not like I just think Keith is pretty. Shiro's got those Chris Evan's titties. Pidge is a gremlin, but they're adorable. Allura's this wicked ethereal alien beauty. Even Coran's got that sexy, silver fox thing going on..."

 

"Gross, he's like... 20 years older than us. But okay sure. Everyone's hot. You do worry the most about Keith, though." Hunk said reasonably "No one else gets as mad at him when he pulls dangerous stunts as you do."

 

"What, I'll ride his ass so that means I want to fuck him?" Lance paused and threw the space potatoes into a pot "That didn't come out right. But you know what I mean."

 

"I'm just saying, maybe you care about him more than you want to admit." Hunk's voice was soft. He threw the unidentified meat into a hot pan and it hissed.

 

"I just don't want him to get himself killed doing something stupid. He's fun to have around. And to look at."

 

Hunk hummed softly.

 

"Just cause I like flirting with him doesn't mean I want to date him. I don't want to date everyone I flirt with."

 

"Okay."

 

"Seriously Hunk."

 

"Bro, you do see that I literally stopped arguing with you, right?" There was humor behind his words.

 

"Yeah but for some reason, it still feels like you're trying to give me shit." Lance shoved his hands into his pockets with a huff.

 

"You're projecting. If you say you don't have a crush on Keith, I believe you." Hunk smiled gently "Let's get some music going. I've got that mp3 player Pidge jury-rigged with everyone's music on it. I won't even complain if you play your music.

 

"...fine." Lance had the distinct feeling that he was being pandered to, but there was music so he didn't care that much.

 

_____

 

 

Training had gone badly. The gladiators were glitchy, freezing at inopportune times, but worse than that, Keith's attacks had been weak and his movements were shaky. He'd been struggling to get through simulation level 4 when Shiro and Allura had stopped by on their rounds. Shiro had shut down the simulation and ordered Keith to go do something else.

 

Normally Keith would have put up a fight, but he knew his form was sloppy. Training his body to move the wrong way was worse than not training at all, he conceded.

 

But dinner hadn't been called yet and, after a quick shower, he was itching to do something productive so he set off to see if Hunk could use an extra set of hands.

 

As he got closer, he could hear music and singing drifting out of the kitchen. He vaguely recognized the vocalist, but he couldn't place the song. The lyrics were pretty kind of suggestive. It must have been something from Lance's playlist. He walked into the kitchen to see Hunk being serenaded by and extremely enthusiastic Lance as he set the table.

 

"Uh... Do you need help?" He asked awkwardly. Watching Lance pretend to seduce people to music was not a rare occurrence, but he still felt a bit voyeuristic watching it happen.

 

"Yes. Please. Help." Hunk said, a mixture of humor and annoyance in his voice. Keith was fairly sure he wasn't talking about setting the table.

 

As soon as Lance saw him, he bounded over, grabbing Keith by the hips and dragged him into the room, still singing along suggestively. His eyes locked on to Keith's and twinkled mischievously.

 

_"...Everybody waiting up to hear if I dare speak your name..."_

 

This wasn't the first time Keith had been on the receiving end of one of Lance's pseudo-seductions. Keith sighed and wrapped his hands firmly around Lance's wrists and tried to push his hands off of his hips, but Lance twisted free easily. He caught Keith's elbow and pulled him into an awkward embrace. One of Lance's hand gripped him above the elbow, lightly, while the other made its way to the small of his back, effectively holding him in place. The arm that he had a hold of was against his chest, stopping Lance from pulling him in any closer. Keith had the distinct feeling that he was caught in a sparring match that he hadn't necessarily agreed too.

 

  _"...and everyone wants to know 'bout how it felt to hear you scream..."_ Lance's eyes were still locked onto Keith's. Keith tried half-heartedly to squirm out of his grip. These lyrics were too sexually fueled for Lance to be looking at him like that _"...They know you walk like you're a God, they can't believe I made you weak..."_ Lance leaned in to whisper the last line in Keith's ear. Okay. That was too close. Keith felt a spark in his belly.

 

"Knock it off, Lance!" His voice was a little higher than he would have liked. He put his palms against Lance's chest and gave him a firm push. Lance let go of him easily and danced back to Hunk, looking amused. Keith's heart was racing.

 

"Sorry, Keith. Halsey makes him a little... punchy." Hunk gave him a sympathetic grin "Would you mind doing the dinner call for me? I'm basically done here." He sidestepped Lance skillfully and shut off the music. Lance whined loudly and crossed his arms in a huff, doing an excellent impression of a petulant child.

 

"Uh, yeah. Sure thing." Keith pressed the intercom button next to the door "Er... food's ready?" his voice echoed.

 

"Oh my god! Keith! That was so bad!" Lance snorted "Why did you say it like a question?"

 

"Shut up, jackass."

 

"Oh good comeback, samurai. I'm super impressed."

 

Keith rolled his eyes and sat down at the table without replying.

 

Slowly, the rest of the team drifted into the dining area and started their meals. Hunk had out done himself, as always. Keith couldn't name anything he was putting in his mouth, or even think of the earth equivalents, but it didn't matter. Everything was incredible.

 

The conversation quickly turned back to what they'd need to get at the trading post the next day. Allura warned them that they'd need to blend in as much as possible which would mean finding more common clothes around the castle before they left. Keith couldn't think of anything he needed that wasn't already on the list and by this point, he had begun to zone out. Bored and tired and with a belly full of delicious food, he was looking forward to escaping to his room and crashing.

 

"Hey so, since we're going to get food tomorrow, I was wondering what everyone really missed from home." Hunk's voice snapped him back to the conversation "I thought, if I could find some decent ingredients to substitute, I could try to make the space equivalents of our favorite food, to help with the homesickness."

 

"Peanut butter cookies!" Pidge's hand shot up enthusiastically, coming inches from hitting Shiro in the face "My mom makes the best peanut butter cookies in the world."

 

"If I could just get a good cup of Cuban coffee, I'd be a happy man," Lance said wistfully, locking his fingers behind his head and leaning precariously in his chair.

 

"What? No. Lance." Hunk said flatly "You have a serious caffeine sensitivity. Last time you had coffee you were convinced you were going to die. Pick something else."

 

"Fine." Lance pouted "I guess I also really miss that one pizza joint we used to go to when we'd sneak out."

 

"Well, mine's less about the actual food and more about the experience, but I really miss hot pot." Shiro put his chin in his hand and rested his elbows on the table for support "We used to do it every other week when I was at the Garrison. It started out with a couple of us Asian kids being nostalgic for home, but then people kept inviting their friends and it kind of turned into a thing. A bunch of my friends kept it going after we all graduated." he paused for a second, then looked at Pidge with a grin "Actually, that's how I met Matt. One of his friend invited him along and he kept mumbling shabu-shabu under his breath all night because he thought it was fun."

 

"Yeah, that sounds like him." Pidge nodded "You know, I heard rumors about some upperclassmen with a contraband camp stove that they used for secret, bi-monthly rituals."

 

"Mhm, the ones I always heard were about cannibalizing the weaker freshman," Lance added.

 

Shiro laughed loudly "Yeah, there's like a 90% chance that Matt started that rumor."

 

"What about you, Keith?" Hunk asked. "Is there anything you really miss?"

 

Suddenly everyone's attention was on him. Keith fidgeted, feeling a little embarrassed. There was something, but he didn't know how to make it, and he didn't expect Hunk to know either.

 

"Uh, well..." He started "New Years is coming up. Back on earth, I mean. So um... I've kinds been missing dduk guk."

 

"Duck what?"

 

"Not duck, dduk." Keith corrected "It's a Korean thing that we do for New Years, especially. It's a rice cake soup with a beef broth, I think? My grandmother used to make it for me when I was sick or whatever. She taught my dad how to make it before she died, and he was supposed to teach me but..." he twisted a stray thread on his cuff "Anyway. I never learned how to make it, so I haven't had it in a really long time."

 

"I'm sure I can figure it out if you tell me a little more about it." Hunk said confidently.

 

"Did you dad stop making it for you when you went away to the Garrison?" Pidge asked "I'm sure he can make it for you again when we all get back home. What?" Shiro put a hand on their shoulder quickly, to stop them, but it was too late.

 

A sharp laugh escaped Keith's throat. He clapped his hand over his mouth quickly. That was weird. Where had that come from?

 

"Keith." Shiro's voice was soft. Keith had actually forgotten that the others knew so little about his life before Voltron. He had just assumed everyone knew. And now they were all looking at him, expectantly. He blew a short puff of air out of his nose, humorlessly.

 

"Sorry. Sorry, it's not funny. It's just..." He cleared his throat and pulled on his ear nervously "He stopped making it for me because he um... died."

 

The room fell silent. Allura put a hand to her mouth. Coran and Hunk both had identical looks of surprise and sympathy. Pidge looked down at their plate, awkwardly and Shiro gave him a sad but supportive nod.

 

He risked a glance at Lance. He just looked confused and sad.

 

"You don't need to get weird about it..." Keith shifted uncomfortably "Everyone's got stuff. My stuff just happens to be being an orphan. I'm not any worse off than anyone else in the universe."

 

"But what about you're whole 'everyone's got a family' speech you gave to try to stop me from leaving?" Pidge asked quietly.

 

"I mean..." Keith kicked the back of his shoe under the table "I never said my family was related to me... Shiro was the closest thing I had to family for a long time. And then we all ended up here and... you know..." he mumbled as he slid down into his chair, hoping it would swallow him up. This was embarrassing. "You guys are... like my... whatever I guess."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah this chapter's late, I'm sorry. But it's longer than the last two so I hope no one minds too much. 
> 
> The song Lance sings is "Strange Love" by Halsey.
> 
> Feed back is always appreciated. Now that I'm in the thick of it, I have a better idea of where I'm headed, but I'd still love to know where you'd like to see this story go!
> 
> The M rating should kick in in the next chapter.
> 
> Additionally, you can feel free to follow and message me on my Tumblr [Vivoltron](vivoltron.tumblr.com) for updates.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I said it was going to earn it's M rating this chapter and I think I delivered.
> 
> Obviously, if you want to skip it, you can. It's mostly inconsequential to the actual plot. It's all in italics at the beginning so feel free to scroll past it if you're not interested.

_Keith squirmed in his lap, grinding hard against him as Lance raked his nails down his back. There was a soft moan as Lance sunk his teeth into the sensitive flesh at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Lance sucked passionately at a patch of skin for a moment before pulling back and peppering his throat with light kisses. Keith's blunt nails scrapped at Lance's bare shoulders uselessly, soft pants escaping his lips. His breathing was erratic. Lance felt it catch as he nipped lightly at his jaw, and his hips jerked down to rub against him._

 

_Lance's arousal pressed uncomfortably against the seam of his jeans in reaction to the soft mewls coming from the gorgeous man on his lap. There were far too many clothes involved for their current situation, he thought practically. His hands slipped under Keith's shirt. Keith whimpered in protest as Lance pulled back, but raised his arms to help him pull his shirt up over his head. Lance sat back giving himself a brief moment to admire how Keith looked, half naked and aroused, straddling his lap, before he reached up to claim his mouth. His fingers worked the button on the front of Keith's jeans. His mouth was soft and pliant. Keith caught Lance's lower lip in his teeth and bit down hard. A faint, familiar taste of iron filled Lance's mouth._

 

_"Shit, Keith, what the hell?" Lance yanked back and touched a finger to his stinging lip._

 

_"Mmm… Sorry, babe." Keith said, coyly, not looking even slightly apologetic. He leaned down to kiss him again._

 

_"That fucking hurt." Lance's lips moved against Keith's as he spoke. Keith grinned into the kiss and clicked his teeth together menacingly. Lance grabbed a handful of silky black hair and yanked his head back "No biting."_

 

_"I thought you liked it when I bit you." Keith grinned, his head back, neck fully exposed._

 

_"Not when you make me bleed," Lance said, attacking Keith's neck with his mouth._

 

_"What are you gonna do about it, then?" Keith purred, his eyes half-lidded with pleasure "Have I been bad? Are you gonna punish me?"_

 

_"It doesn't really have the same effect if you like the punishment," Lance said, in mock irritation, but he pushed Keith roughly off his lap and stood. Keith shuffled forward on his knees and hooked his fingers under Lance's waistband. Lance undid the button and zipper of his jeans and Keith jerked them down eagerly._

 

_"How d'you know I won't bite this too, though?" he teased, placing one hand on Lance's stomach to pushing him back and pulling his legs out of his jeans. He tossed them aside and wiggled out of his own._

 

_"Because if you do, you lose dick privileges," Lance said, taking the opportunity to remove his briefs and toss them in the same general direction that his jeans had gone._

 

_"That really would be a punishment." Keith lamented. He licked his lips and pushed Lance's knees apart, settling himself between them. He kissed his stomach and ran his fingers over his hips with agitating gentleness. Lance groaned and let his head fall forward._

 

_"Just… get to it…" his breath hitched as Keith nipped gingerly at a spot on his inner thigh._

 

_"Impatient?"_

 

_"Very." Lance nodded. There was no point denying it. His dripping cock was already betraying his excitement._

 

_Keith licked his palm and wrapped it around his erection firmly. Lance hissed as he thumbed the tip, smearing pre-cum over the head. Keith gave a couple of experimental jerks before leaning forward and wraps his lips around him. Lance swore loudly. The heat enveloping him was almost more than he could stand. Keith chucked around his cock. The vibrations elicited another curse. Lance wove his fingers through Keith's hair, trying to resist the urge to thrust into his mouth. Keith rubbed his tongue against the ridged underside of his cock, pushing the head against the roof of his mouth. He worked his hand up and down the shaft, the top of his fist against his lips as his head bobbed shallowly._

 

_Keith moaned, his free hand down the front of his boxers, pumping himself as he worked Lance's dick with his mouth. His brow was furrowed in concentration._

 

_"Look at me." Lance pushed his fingers through Keith's fringe, brushing his hair away from his face "Mmm… Please. Look at me. I need…"_

 

_Keith glanced up, stormy eyes meeting his and a shock of pleasure coursed through Lance's body. His heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest. It was too much. Keith's soft, pink mouth wrapped around him, a flush across his cheeks. Staring up at him with wide eyes. Lance's fingers tangled in his disheveled hair._

 

_"Shit, I'm gonna-"_

 

Lance's eyes shot open, blankets twisted in his tightly balled fists, breathing heavily. He stared at the ceiling for a moment in a daze, before reality came crashing down on him. He lifted his sheet slightly and groaned. His stomach was wet and sticky with quickly cooling cum. He kicked his covers off and sat up, burying his face in his hands, frustrated.

 

It happened again.

 

\------

 

Keith tugged uncomfortably at the sleeve of his tunic as they pilled into the escape pod, willing it to cover more of his arm.

 

Allura had chosen outfits for all of them that morning. She had been very insistent that their normal clothes would make them stand out too much, and that, if they wanted to be covert, their fashion would have to match the aesthetic of everyone else at the market. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was purely self-indulgent on her part, but no one else has argued much, so he certainly wasn't going to say anything.

 

He'd been given a long, black, sleeveless, tunic with a baggy hood and soft, baggy, black pants that were tightly fitted below the knee. The heavy, red, platform boots weighed him down. He was almost certain he wouldn't be able to fight in them. Walking without rolling his ankles was proving to be a challenge in and of its self. They made him feel vulnerable.

 

He'd gotten the least practical outfit.

 

Pidge had complained the most but had grudgingly changed into a pair of short black shorts, an oversized green sweater with a floral pattern on one other shoulder, a slouchy beanie, and black dock martins. Keith decided it actually wouldn't have been a bad look for them if they'd stop scowling.

 

Hunk was wearing a white button down with a sensible grey cardigan, cuffed light blue jeans, a brown belt and a yellow knit scarf with flashy orange loafers. He seemed pleased.

 

Shiro had a long, plaid button down, layered under a loose, white turtle neck, a pastel purple leather jacket with black gloves, to hide the Galra tech, tight white pants and pointed boots in the same pastel purple as his jacket.

 

Lance had been the most enthusiastic about the outfit Allura had chosen for him. Like Pidge, Lance had a pair of short black shorts, but his were paired with a dark t-shirt with a lion graphic, a faded denim jacket, and blue knee high sporty socks and combat boots.

 

"Come on, come on…" Coran tapped the steering column impatiently and looked over his shoulder "The sooner we get back, the sooner we can get out of these ridiculous clothes."

 

Even Coran had not been spared on Allura's fashion rampage. He'd been stuck in a black, shiny button down and leather pants, with a black tie and flamboyant silk blazer with a bright blue floral print and yellow piping along the seams.

 

"I think we look good." Lance insisted, crawling into the pod and swishing himself between Shiro and the door "I'm kinda digging this slutty androgynous hipster chic thing I have going on."

 

Hunk nodded in agreement, fingering his cardigan fondly "Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't mind wearing this again."

 

"That's because _your_ outfit suits you." Pidge grumbled, squeezing in next to Hunk "And Lance likes looking slutty. No one needs to see this much leg from me."

 

"Pidge, don't call Lance slutty." Shiro chided "This is a really tight fit. Keith, do you have enough room?"

 

"I didn't mean it in a bad way, I'm just saying he has the legs for it. I don't." Pidge shrugged "There's a little room over here still."

 

Keith eyes the spot skeptically "Pidge, there's no possible way I'll fit there. Coran, why aren't we taking a bigger pod? There's not enough space."

 

"Because this is less conspicuous, number 4. Just squeeze in."

 

"There's no place for me to squeeze in. Not without sitting on anyone."

 

"Oh come ON, Keith." Lance grabbed Keith's wrist and dragged him into the cabin, yanking him into his lap unceremoniously "That's the thing about paladins, right? We're stackable."

 

"What?! No!" Keith scrambled to stand up "I'm too heavy! Pidge should-"

 

"I'm not sitting on Lance's lap." Pidge crossed their arms defiantly "My leg skin is not touching his leg skin."

 

"Fine by me, Keith's ass is way less boney than yours is anyway, you gremlin." Lance wrapped his arms loosely around Keith's waist and made a face at Pidge.

 

"That is offensive and untrue, objectively my ass is far superior to Keith's ass."

 

"Okay, that's enough talk about asses. Coran, let's go." Shiro sighed wearily "Sorry Keith, I know it's not ideal, but it should be a short trip. Just hang in there for a little bit."

 

Keith sighed heavily as the pod door slid shut, and shifted in Lance's lap, trying to find a comfortable way to sit. His lap was a little too small and his knees were a little too sharp and Keith couldn't exactly figure out where to put his hands.

 

"Dude quit squirming." Lance squeezed his arms a little tighter around Keith's waist, his elbows digging into his sides "It feels weird."

 

"This was your idea, idiot, I'm just trying to get comfortable. You don't exactly have the softest lap in the universe, okay? Get your elbows out of my hips." Keith frowned down at his hands. What did he normally do with his hands, anyway? He twisted them into the soft fabric on his thighs.

 

"Yeah, well somethings definitely not gonna be soft for too much longer if you keep wiggling like that," Lance grumbled under his breath.

 

"What?"

 

"I said my lap is a freaking gift from god and you can sit on someone else on the return trip."

 

"Why am I still sitting on someone on the way back?!"

 

"Knock it off you two!" Shiro leaned his head against the wall, looking agitated "We'll figure out a better solution before we leave."

 

"Fine. Good." Keith muttered, fidgeting with his pants. It's not like this was completely terrible, it was just… embarrassing.

 

"Whatever."

 

Lance rested his forehead against Keith's arm. His forehead felt warm against his bare skin. He wondered if Lance was getting sick. Usually he was more confrontational than this.

 

Could they even get sick out here? The castle seemed sanitary enough. And, theoretically, space should be a sterile environment. So unless they'd brought earth diseases with them or there was some ancient Altean space virus floating around the castle, they probably couldn't get the flu in space. Unless they picked up an alien germ from one of the planets they'd visited. How would their human immune systems handle alien germs anyway? That suddenly seemed like an incredibly important thing to know.

 

His mind started to wander, thoroughly engrossed by the possibilities of space diseases. He was only faintly aware of the other conversations happening around him.

 

Absently, he leaned into the warmth against his arm. If Lance wasn't sick, maybe he just naturally ran a little hotter. It's not like they'd had a ton of actual skin to skin contact. He'd never spared a thought for his internal body temperature before. If he did run warm, that would be good for fighting off space viruses. Or maybe Keith was just cold. He didn't feel terribly cold, though. In fact, there was a small flutter behind his solar plexus that seemed to been keeping him pleasantly toasty.

 

Speaking of pleasant, the engine rumbling gently beneath them and the quiet chatter of his friends was soothing. His eyelids felt a little heavy. He hadn't been sleeping so well recently. No one would care if he just shut his eyes for a second. No one would even notice. It was fine. His eyes fluttered shut.

 

\-----

 

Lance noticed Keith's head droop as he was arguing the merits of a mandatory weekly karaoke night with Shiro. He didn't think anything of it. Keith usually got quiet before they went out on a mission. He was probably thinking.

 

But, just as he was explaining how much of an incredible bonding experience it would be for the team to nail all the parts to _Lady Marmalade_ , the pod hit a spot of turbulence and Keith tipped forward precariously. Lance yelped and scrambling to keep him from falling forward, wrapped locked his arms tightly around Keith's midsection.

 

"Whoop." Shiro's arm shot out and he caught Keith's shoulder "There he goes. Wow, he's really out, huh?"

 

He gave a gentle shove and pushed him into his chest. Keith's head lulled back onto Lance's shoulder.

 

"Is he okay?" Hunk leaned forward nervously.

 

"Yeah, yeah he's fine, don't worry about it." Shiro leaned back "Car rides always knock him out. Kid can sleep anywhere, I swear. I'm kind of jealous."

 

"Shouldn't we wake him up?" Lance's voice cracked slightly.

 

"No way." Shiro grimaced "I'm already down one limb. Personally, I'm pretty attached to the rest of them. He'll wake up when the engine stops."

 

"Aw… he's almost cute when he's sleeping." Pidge snickered, leaning forward "Look, he's not even scowling. I guess that's a conscious choice."

 

Lance groaned and slumped back in his seat. Keith unconsciously curled into him and his heart beat quickened. If the circumstances had been different, he thought vaguely, this might have actually been quite nice. The weight of Keith's body was oddly soothing. He was nice and warm. His hair smelled like citrus and spearmint. The way he seemed to fit very comfortably into his chest and the way Lance's arms could wrap effortlessly around his waist felt perfect.

 

But with the whole team, in an incredibly cramped pod, on their way to spend a day running errands on and alien planet, while holding a guy who, not only probably didn't even like dudes, but had been the central figure in the same erotic dream he'd had every night for the last week, the situation was significantly less comfortable than he would have liked.

 

Paladins are stackable. Jesus, he was a fucking idiot.

 

Lance wasn't exactly sure how long it took them to land. He'd tried to stay engaged in the conversation, but between the gentle puffs of breath on his skin, the warmth of Keith's body against his own, and fighting the heat growing in the pit of his stomach he was distracted. He gave up on listening when Pidge started asking Coran how the carbon dioxide converter worked and decided to focus all of his energy on not getting hard.

 

Just like Shiro had predicted, he woke up on his own when the pod touched down. As soon as the engines cut out, Keith's face scrunched up and he curled into himself, protesting his bodies call to consciousness. Lance bit the inside of his lip to keep from grinning stupidly. It was kind of adorable. After a moment, Keith's body relaxed with a sigh and his eyes blinked open. He looked a little bewildered for a moment before his eyes shot open. He took a sharp breath through this noes and pushed himself away from Lance's chest.

 

"I'm awake."

 

"We're here. Let's get moving." Shiro said, hoisting himself up as Coran opened the cabin doors.

 

Lance's arms were still around Keith's waist as he stood up. They slipped away, his hands hesitating for half a second on Keith's hips, before falling uselessly to his sides. Keith stepped back to let Hunk and Pidge pass and the back of his legs pressed against Lance's knees. Lance drummed his fingers against the metal seat impatiently as the others filled out of the cabin. When Keith started towards the door after them, he sighed heavily and stood up. He leaned forward and rubbed his palms against his thighs roughly.

 

"Was I too heavy?" Keith turned to look at him. Lance felt his ears get hot.

 

"Oh no, it was fine. You were fine. My legs are just kinda cold now."

 

"Oh… I'm… sorry…" Keith mumbled. His gaze shifted back to the door

 

"Er… No, it's fine, it's just my shorts… um…" Lance twisted the cuff of his shorts. He felt anxious suddenly.

 

"We should go. The others…"

 

"Y-yeah."

 

Lance followed him out, hesitantly. He blinked at the sudden assault of sunlight on his retinas.

 

Coran had landed them a ways away, in a meadow full of tall, blue grass. Bright red wildflowers with long petals that resembled spider legs dotted the landscape. The sounds of the bustling market carried over the wide open field on a gentle breeze that tugged lazily at his jacket and hair. It was kind of beautiful, Lance thought. It looked a lot like Earth. His heart ached at the thought.

 

Being careful not to step on any of the strange alien flowers, he shook off the bout of nostalgia and traipsed over to join his team.

 

"Shiro, I want you to come with me to get the carbon dioxide converter and medical supplies. Pidge, Hunk, you're in charge of food and spare parts." Coran passed around the CTP's "Lance…"

 

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'm with Keith." Lance took the metal disk and shoved it into his pocket "We're getting all the personal stuff, right?"

 

"Not my personal stuff, you're not. I'll find that myself, thanks."

 

"I have bought tampons before, it's really not a problem. But suit yourself, I guess?" Lance shrugged, glancing over at Keith who looked slightly relieved "Any special concerns for shampoo or soap or anything?"

 

"Lance, you know my hair better than I do. I trust your judgment." Shiro said. Hunk nodded seriously.

 

"Just something that doesn't smell weird." Pidge added "Other than that, I don't care."

 

"Gotcha."

 

"Right. Lists should be on your communication devices if you need them." Coran looked up at the sky "Let's meet back here in 5 vargas. Take your time. Look around, have some fun while we're here. If you run into any trouble, send out an alert and we'll all go to your location immediately but uh…" he looked pointedly at Keith and Lance "Let's try to stay out of trouble, shall we?"

 

"Why do we always get singled out in the 'don't get into trouble' speeches?" Lance asked, a bit defensively.

 

"You know why," Keith smirked and crossed his arms.

 

"Why? Because you get into knife fights with four armed alien infomercial hosts and I brought home a cow?"

 

"Exactly."

 

"Yeah, that's fair." Lance conceded with a shrug.

 

"At least _try_ to stay out of trouble while we're here," Shiro said sounding distressed.

 

They parted ways as they entered the bazaar. The market was huge. There were miles of twisting streets lined with tents and old buildings. Crowds of aliens milled around, shopping, and bartering loudly with shopkeepers. As they pushed through the hoard of shoppers, Lance found himself frequently throwing furtive glances over his shoulder to make sure Keith was still nearby.

 

"Here, let's try this one." Lance pulled Keith into a colourful and good smelling apothecary tent. Sun glinted off shiny glass bottles and jars. The shop keeper greeted them with what was probably a smile. It was hard to tell exactly with all the tentacles, but she seemed pleasant enough.

 

"Sorry, you're stuck with me again." Keith murmured as he opened a flat, round flask and sniffed the contents.

 

"Hm?" Lance had been distracted by a delicate pink bottle with viscous sort of liquid inside "What do you mean?"

 

"Just like…" Keith turned the flask over in his hands with a frown "You'd rather be with Hunk or someone else, right? But we keep getting paired up together."

 

"Nah, if I was with Hunk right now I'd be super bored. I hate grocery shopping. Even with alien food. At some point, it all just starts to look the same to me." he unscrewed a jar lid and held it out for Keith to smell "Would Pidge hate this? They'd hate this, right? It smells like old wood or something." Keith made a face "Maybe Shiro would like it."

 

"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, that's not what I meant…" Keith shifted his weight to one side, still eye the bottle in his hand skeptically "I mean… Even if they were in English, I can't read any of these labels. I don't know anything about this sort of stuff. I'm not really much use." He sighed and ran his fingers through his fringe "And I'm not exactly the best company…"

 

"I was thinking we should look for a booth with glasses while we're here, but I didn't figure you'd want me to say anything in front of everyone else. Anyway, 90% of this is just hoping that what I'm buying is shampoo and not battery acid…" Lance trailed off, finally registering what Keith had said. He turned to look at him, frowning "What do you mean you're not the best company?"

 

"You know…" Keith shrugged.

 

"No, I don't know." Lance handed the basket to the shopkeeper, who began to ring up their items.

 

"I'm kind of…" Keith fidgeted with the hem of his tunic, avoiding Lance's eye "Well, Shiro says abrasive, but I'm pretty sure he's just too nice to call me an asshole."

 

"Yeah, you're an asshole." Lance gave her their CTP to scan "But it's not like you're the only asshole on the team. We all kind of have our own brand of asshole."

 

He took their CTP back from the shopkeeper and she waved a blue tentacle at hem cheerily as they left.

 

"I guess that's true. I just… I didn't think you liked having to hang out with me." Keith said as they weaved their way through the throng of aliens.

 

"If I didn't want to hang out with you, I'd ditch you in the crowd and go do my own thing. No one's forcing me to stay with you." Lance glanced back over his shoulder to make sure Keith was still there "Anyway. I think your company is just fine. I like your company."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a challenge honestly, I'm really sorry it took me so long to get it out. I've been dealing with some health issues that make being able to update consistency difficult, but I have no intention of abandoning this story.
> 
> If you want to see the outfits I drew for this chapter, you can find them [here](https://missviola-arts.tumblr.com/post/158474822748/gotta-dress-for-the-mission-this-is-for-the)
> 
> If you want to say updated on my progress or talk to me, my Voltron sideblog is [here](https://vivoltron.tumblr.com/)
> 
> As always, feed back is welcome and encouraged!


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